Party conference: Labours' plan for employment rights

At the Labour Party Conference this week, Angela Rayner, Shadow Deputy Prime Minister, and Rachel Reeves, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, mentioned a number of employment policies a Labour government would intend to introduce if it wins the next general election.

The New Deal for Working People would include:

• Introducing a ‘genuine living wage’ – change the Low Pay Commission’s remit so the minimum wage 'takes into account the real cost of living'.
• Banning the use of zero-hour contracts.
• Ending fire and rehire practices.
• Strengthening sick pay.
• Offering basic employment rights from day one.
• Making work more family-friendly.
• Tackling sexual harassment.
• Boosting collective bargaining to improve worker’s pay, terms and conditions.
• Going ‘further and faster’ to end the gender pay gap. 

These policies were included in Labour’s Employment Right Green Paper. The BRC analysed each proposal to consider its impacts on the retail sector, and welcome members' feedback on the document – please find it here.